Blood Talon No More
by CrystalDreams72
Summary: After the 6th tournament Hwoarang realizes he no longer wants to fight. But will it be easy to give up fighting? What happens when he meets an American woman who is nothing but a walking trouble magnet? Spoilers of Tekken 6. Hwoarang and OC.
1. Chapter 1: No More Fighting

**Author's Note: Okay so this is just me trying to pass the time away. Hwoarang is one of my favorite characters so I decided to just write something about him. Don't expect a lot of updates from this, I have other fan fictions I am more dedicated to, and this is strictly for my amusement. Takes place after the Sixth games so spoilers…. Don't read if you haven't played… Don't want anyone to get pissed if I say something about the game and they haven't played it. BTW I don't own Tekken, just the characters that you don't recognize from Tekken. Rated M for violence and smut. Hope you enjoy, thanx for reading. Oh and the chapters in this might not be very long. I am wanted something a little shorter and to the point. Might change if I start to take this seriously.**

"I am done with this shit." Hwoarang mumbled angrily as he laid back onto his cot, talking to himself. After the last tournament he decided he was done with all of the fighting everything. He had come so close to ending up like Devil Jin, and that scared him immensely. It was no different to him than a brush with death. He wanted a normal life, and he wanted a normal life now. He wanted just for once not to fight and be utterly happy with his life. He didn't want complications, he didn't want grudge matches, and he definitely didn't want to deal with anything Jin or Jin's family related. He was through with it all.

He sighed and rolled over. How was he going to just give it all up though? Fighting had always been his breath of life. How was he supposed to stop his breathing? Stop the thing he used to wake up looking forward too? Chills ran up his spine like icy fingers of death trailing up to the base of his skull. He ran a hand through his red spikes of hair. It was easy, just never lift a finger in a fight again and avoid it at all costs to him.

He sighed desperately and tried to fall asleep. It didn't work. He tossed and turned all throughout the night with one thought on his mind other than him quitting fighting: What would he be like if that power had taken a hold of him fully? His stomach turned at the thought. Terrible, it would have been terrible. That demonic power deserved no host, and he was glad he had been strong enough to fight it off. And he had been right. He wasn't like Jin at all. He wouldn't be used like Jin had been, and he surely wouldn't be that demonic monster. Troubled thoughts, and troubled dreams plagued him all night.

He was thankful when he looked out his window to see the first rays of light peaking above the city. When the sun rose he rose, out of pure habit, no matter if he had slept or not. He went straight to the kitchen and looked into his sister's refrigerator. Nothing he would eat. His sister was a strict tofu eater, and he made a face in disgust. He shut the refrigerator door and walked into the backyard. His sister was doing very well for herself, or well her husband was doing very well for the both of them.

He was lucky that she had let him have a place to stay until he found a place of his own. Instantly he started meditating. It helped calm his nerves but at the same time he knew to give up fighting, he would have to give up meditating. His whole life was so centered around fighting, he realized he was going to have to give up a lot of things that dealt with that.

Angrily he stood up, not even done with his meditation, and walked back into his sister's home. He dressed quickly and decided he needed food and an early start on looking for a place to live.

He dressed in what he considered casual: jeans, tight fitting black t-shirt and a worn brown leather jacket. He then walked upstairs and into his sister's room. She was still asleep, but her husband was up and getting ready for work. "Jung, tell Hana when she wakes that I am going to get an early start on looking for a place." said Hwoarang as he poked his head into the room. His brother in law nodded and Hwoarang left before words could be said. He liked Jung enough, it was just awkward talking to him sometimes.

Outside he got on his motorcycle and went to the nearest market. He parked his motorcycle in the designated parking areas and started to look for the old café he used to go eat at all the time in his street fighting days. He laughed at himself. It hadn't been so long ago, but yet it seemed like it had happened in a complete other lifetime. He entered Sui's Café and was greeted by one of his old gang members behind the counter. "Hwoarang? Is that you?" said his old friend.

Hwoarang smiled and shook his head yes. "And is that you Kwan?" he asked with a hint of playfulness in his voice. The old friends as well as gang members hugged each other quickly. "When did you start working here?" Hwoarang asked as he looked at the uniform Kwan was wearing. "After the gang broke up I had to have a job" said Kwan with a laugh. They looked at each other and Kwan shook his head and smiled disbelievingly. "I know it has only been two years, but man, you look so different." said Kwan as he dished out some noodles for Hwoarang. "Thanks." Hwoarang said as he took the noodles and sat at the bar.

"Yeah I have changed a lot. I have seen a lot. You see the shit I have seen old friend, you tend to change." said Hwoarang.

"Yeah, I heard you got arrested by the military." mentioned Kwan, hoping to find out more about the rumor, and oblivious that was not what Hwoarang was speaking about.

"I did, but I really don't want to talk about that. It was nothing horrible seeing how I am sitting here now. But it was enough that I just don't like to talk about it" Hwoarang said with a mouth full of noodles. He pointed at the bowl with his chopsticks and mouthed that it was good. Kwan nodded and smiled. Hwoarang usually shared everything amongst friends and the fact that he was didn't tell his friend about the arrest unnerved Kwan.

Sitting there in front of Kwan was making it hard for him to forget his Blood Talon days. He sighed and looked back to the noodles and took another big bite.

"Well since you are back we can get the gang back together and start making some mean cash." Kwan said as he punched the air playfully, but carefully displaying speed and swift precision behind his punch. Hwoarang looked at his dark headed friend. There were so much hope behind Kwan's brown eyes that Hwoarang almost agreed. But then that chill from earlier climbed his spine. He shivered and shook his head no. Kwan looked confused by Hwoarang's reaction.

"I am done with fighting. It causes nothing but trouble." Hwoarang explained briefly to his friend.

"Man what the hell happened to you?" asked Kwan disappointed in Hwoarang's answer.

"Like I said, I have just seen a lot of shit." Hwoarang said defeated. Kwan pushed aside the notion to further the issue of him not wanting to fight again.

"I see. So what brings you back to town?" asked Kwan as he started to busy himself with cleaning the noodle bar.

"Trying to start living a normal life." Hwoarang said as he finished his noodles.

"And what do you classify as a normal life?" Kwan asked stunned as he stared at Hwoarang. What ever had happened to Hwoarang while he was away had seriously changed the man sitting at the bar.

"Something where I don't have to fight." Hwoarang said a little bit too quickly.

He sighed and stared down into his empty bowl.

"Well how about tonight Hwoarang, we get together and hit up the club scene? You haven't thrown that away too have you? There are some pretty girls out there that would love to see you." Kwan said, dropping the issue. Hwoarang laughed. The idea of clubbing and hooking up tonight sounded more than promising. Actually it seemed rather promising in his mind that a smile broke his face handsomely.

Hwoarang nodded. "I will see you tonight then." Hwoarang said as he stood up and pulled out his wallet. "Don't worry about it man." Kwan said as he shook his hand in the air. Hwoarang smiled and pocketed the wallet.

"So what club?" asked Hwoarang interested in the area of choice now. "Just the old one." laughed Kwan as he threw a rag over his shoulder and smiled. Hwoarang nodded and smiled too. That meant not only would he have to see old friends, he would have to deal with this same conversation about fighting all night.

"Well I will see you tonight, I have to start looking for an apartment." Hwoarang said as he tried to leave.

"Where are you staying right now if you don't have a place yet?" asked Kwan as Hwoarang reached the door. "At Hana's." he said quietly. Kwan's face fell. Hana had been the love of Kwan's life four years ago and she had cheated on him with Jung. "Well, I will just meet you at the club tonight." Kwan said darkly. Hwoarang nodded and left before he tried to comfort Kwan. The last thing a man needed who was still hung up on a relationship that had happened four years ago was comforting. He needed someone else to fill the empty place in his heart.

Hwoarang got back on his motorcycle and drove to the apartment district.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Where are you going?" asked Hana as Hwoarang made his way to the door later that night. "Club." was all he said to his older sister. She looked up at him and a thin eyebrow rose. "Did you find a place?" she asked sternly as she crossed her thin arms over her petite chest. "No, I thought I had but then I realized the walls were too thin. I could hear the neighbor masturbating." he said with a hint of a smile to let her know he was kidding about the masturbating. She snorted at him and looked him over.

"Are you seriously wearing that?" she asked. He was wearing a tighter jean than he had on earlier that day and another tight fitting black shirt and the same worn brown leather jacket. He also wore his famous leather riding boots that were studded. "Yeah." he said as he looked at her. "Are you seriously wearing that?" he asked as he pointed to her oversized nightgown that drowned her small frame. She rolled her dark blue eyes and turned to go back up the stairs. "Just be careful, and try not to get in a fight." she muttered as she disappeared to the second floor of the house.

He mocked her then stopped himself. He was 22 years old now so he had to stop acting like a complete child. He left, shutting the door securely behind him, and walked to his motorcycle. Do I really want to do this? He asked himself as he stared down at the ground. Not really, but I am going too, he decided as he climbed on his bike.

He started the engine and revved it loudly a few times, in hope he would annoy his sister before he took off in the direction of the club.

Once there he was greeted by old friends and tons of girls. But that was the case, they were girls. They were of age, some even as old as him, but they teased and annoyed him. He had outgrown this old habit of clubbing and picking up stupid chicks and he hadn't even realized it until he was dancing with the classiest girl he could find, who still made him want to bash his head against the wall. But even though the girls annoyed him, his friends didn't. It was nice that they didn't pester him. Kwan must have told them not to though. All in all, he decided when the club was shutting down and he was walking out to his bike, not even drunk, that it had been an okay night. He smelled of cheap drink and cheap girl, but it had been an okay night. The best part was he wasn't making the mistake of taking a girl home to have a one night stand with.

He was oddly proud that he had outgrown his old ways. Right now he would usually be stumbling drunk with some random chick on his arm. No longer was the case and he smiled to himself happily.

He called out his goodbyes to his friends and they said goodbye as well. He climbed on his bike and took a moment to assure that he was okay to drive, if not he could just crash with Kwan. Not feeling any ill effects he shrugged his shoulders and moved his hand to the ignition with the key. He stopped short with he heard a strangled scream. He looked around and already his friends were gone.

He got off the bike and listened intently. It was a moment until he heard anything again. Some rustling and a loud crash to his right instantly made him start in the direction bravely. The closer he got he realized he was about to walk into something that he didn't care to get involved in. He stopped short of an alley and started to think rationally. Whatever was going on was none of his business and he didn't want to get into anything. He started to turn around but stopped when he heard a whimper. A female whimper. He cursed himself and started back to the alley.


	2. Chapter 2: Someone Save Me

**Author's Note: Turns out I am really enjoying writing this. So might update more than I had originally thought. Hope you enjoy**.

Pain swelled in her head as she was pushed into a brick wall. At this point in time she could only hope that someone would come save her. She ended up here tonight by no one else's fault but her own. She wanted to prove that she could take care of herself, only to be proven wrong. She had lived such a sheltered life that she really had no clue of the reality around her. Tears pricked her eyes and she heard several people above her laugh. "Bitch, give us your money." said one of her attackers. She whimpered and said, "I told you, the driver took it all."

They laughed and one reached out and kicked her in the side. She doubled over and slid to the ground. Tears flowed freely down her face and she listen to them mumbling on what to do to her. "We should just take her. Make her pay for not having anything else to give us." snickered one of them.

Her jaw tightened. Desperately she searched the ground for something to use as a weapon. She wasn't so defenseless that she couldn't fight to the brutal end. One of the grabbed her by her hair and tilted her face up. "Hear that bitch? You are going to pay us one way or another." he laughed in her face. His breath smelled of stale liquor.

She then felt his hand on her knees, working their way up to her thighs. She clenched her legs closed and struck out and hit her attacker as hard as she could in what she figured was his face. He hissed and hit her across the cheek. Her head snapped back and hit the wall again and she felt blood starting to matt her hair.

Then she heard someone else join the mix of things going on around her. She whimpered again and drew her knees up to her chest trying to defend herself anyway possible. But as she listened she realized this new person was not a threat, but her hopeful savior.

While listening she heard the sounds of fighting. She puked to her side after hearing the crunching of a bone. She knew that was what she heard and it made her sick. Whoever had their bone broken screamed loudly, making the sound vibrate off of the brick walls around them. Her skin crawled. Whoever broke the arm must be one powerful person.

After a few moments things went still and all she heard was heavy breathing, and a collection of moans of pain. Whoever just saved her didn't scare her attackers away, they had seriously beat them up. She wasn't sure if she was happy with this fact. Would it have been better to just scare them away? Or had it been the right thing to do, just beat them into submission?

She scrambled back into the wall as much as she could when she heard the person approaching her. She wasn't sure of his intentions even if he had graciously saved her from potential rape and a beating.

"It is okay, I will help you." said the calm deep voice of her savior. She cried and placed a hand over her mouth to stop herself from sobbing louder than she already was. She had been saved and she owed this man her life. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably and he placed his firm hands on them. She instantly tensed but that didn't stop her from crying.

"Can you stand up? I am going to have to take you to the hospital. You have some nasty cuts and bruises." he said as calmly and as friendly as he could. She could tell just by his voice that she must have looked horrid. He was trying hard to be comforting to her, and that was nice, but it didn't help her feel any better. "I don't know if I can stand." she whispered as she finally looked up at him. She heard him gasp and he removed his hands from her. She instantly looked back down, ashamed of herself. It was usually like this, and it made her regret being who she was. It would have been different if she had just looked normal but she didn't.

"You are blind?" he asked. She nodded uncomfortably. "Bastards." he grumbled angrily as she heard him move away from her. She wasn't sure what he was doing until she heard the sharp cry of one of her attackers. "What kind of asshole attacks a woman? A blind woman at that?" he asked in a harsh voice. She then heard a series of blows to each of her attackers that laid on the ground. She knew that he was hitting them all because there were a new collection of moans to go around.

She couldn't help but smile up at him thankfully. "Come on, lets get you off the filthy ground." he said as he came back to her. He gently grabbed her arms and helped her into a standing position. She swayed from side to side and he steadied her with his hands on her shoulders. They were close enough that she could smell him.

He smelled clean, and of spice and leather. His scent comforted her to a degree, as well as his deep voice that vibrated through his chest when he spoke. "Oh my, your head is bleeding." he stated as he gently touched her hair. She winced even though he hadn't touched her actual scalp. "Thank you." she whispered as she started to feel light headed. Before she passed out she grabbed the lapels of his leather jacket with her hands.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

He wrapped his arms around her and she sagged against him and her eyes shut. "Hello?" he asked as he gently patted the side of her pretty face. No response from her. He sighed and pulled out a cell phone and called the emergency services. Poor woman had passed out. He hung up the phone after asking for assistance. Gently he picked her up and walked out of the alley and back to his motorcycle. He then sat down and laid her so her upper body was laying in his lap. As he waited for an ambulance he studied her features.

She for one was not Korean, and by her accent he figured she was American. An American that spoke perfect Korean. He knew she hadn't spoken a lot to him but when she had, it was perfect. Every word pronounced with precision, and great context. She almost spoke better Korean than he did, and he was native to this place. She had shoulder blade dark length sandy blonde hair that was now matted with blood. Pale porcelain skin the color of ivory. And when he had seen her eyes they were a milky film color that had initially scared him. He sighed and looked to the rest of her.

She was bigger in comparison to his sister's petite form. She was almost as tall as him, and had the figure of a woman who cared about her body. Almost like a fighter, he thought as he looked at her arms. They weren't outrageously muscled but enough that she could throw a punch and mean it if she wanted too. She was well toned he figured, with nice high breasts. He looked away from her then. He shouldn't be staring at her breasts.

After a few more minutes he heard the sirens in the distance. He sighed as he caught sight of the ambulance. As he waved it down she stirred in his arms gently. He looked down at her. For a moment she opened her eyes but then went slack again and her eyes shut. At least she was trying to fight to wake up, he thought as he smiled down at her.

An EMT rushed to their side and started to examine her. "What happened?" asked the EMT.

"She was attacked in the alley, her attackers are still there if you want to check. I heard the commotion and I guess you could say I saved her. They had been talking about potentially raping her." Hwoarang said. The man nodded and motioned for the other EMT to call the authorities. "Does she happen to have any identification? Or did she happen to tell you who she was?" asked the EMT as he checked her pulse. "She didn't say who she was before she passed out, and I didn't check for identification. All I know is she is blind." Hwoarang said as he looked down at her.

"Bastards." mumbled the EMT in shock. Hwoarang nodded in agreement, knowing the EMT spoke of her attackers. "Well we are going to have to get her to the hospital. Can you help stand her up so I can check if she has any identification?" asked the EMT.

Hwoarang nodded and stood up and held her up in a standing position while the EMT searched her and another EMT brought over a wheeled stretcher. The EMT's search proved a waste of time. She wore no identification, and she didn't have a purse either, and when Hwoarang helped her up he had looked around and hadn't found anything.

Together, Hwoarang and the EMT laid her on the stretcher. "Can I go with her?" asked Hwoarang. The EM T shook his head no. "Not unless you are family. The only thing I can tell you is that she will be taken to the nearest hospital and you can come and wait there if you want to make sure she is okay. I would suggest it seeing how you most likely saved her life." explained the EMT as he strapped her to the stretcher. "What do you mean by most likely saved her life?" asked Hwoarang suddenly confused by what was going on.

"Well she is bleeding pretty badly from the blow to the head." explained the EMT as they started to wheel her towards the ambulance. "Do you think she will be okay?" asked Hwoarang as he looked down at the woman. She looked so helpless on the stretcher.

"I can't be the judge of that. Like I said if you want to know you should come check on her. Seeing how you might have to be responsible for her if we can't figure out who she is." said the EMT. That was always a strange custom to him. Whoever found someone always became responsible for them. He nodded and watched as they lifted the stretcher into the ambulance.

"After you speak to the authorities you can come find her at the hospital. She will be classified as patient 16." said the EMT before he disappeared into the ambulance.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later….

He sat in the lobby of the third floor of the hospital. It was the surgery ward. The woman that he had saved was having to have surgery. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He thought he would have regretted fighting again, but he didn't at all. He had saved the nameless blind woman, and if he hadn't, who would have? He could still feel the crunching of bone beneath his boot and it gave him a momentary rush. He closed his eyes and tried to forget the fight. Forget the feel of forceful contact of his fist to his opponent. Forget that he was one the Blood Talon.

He had other things to worry about. Things like this blind woman. What was he going to do if they couldn't figure out who the hell she was. When he had arrived they hadn't known who she was yet and they said she was up here. Had she been hurt so bad that she had to have surgery? He looked around and there was only a receptionist, a man and a woman, and himself. He moved in his chair to try to find a more comfortable position.

After talking to the authorities, who had saluted him for saving her, he had came straight here. He hoped she was okay. He would hate to know he saved someone who wasn't going to be okay. She better be okay, he thought as he stared hopelessly down at his boots. He should call someone so he could let them know what was going on, but at the same time he didn't care to let anyone know where he was, or what he had done.

He saved her yes, but if he were to call Hana, the only thing she would listen to would be that he fought again. He had promised her that he wouldn't fight, just as he promised himself. It didn't take him long to break that promise. He smiled to himself and stretched his long legs out.

A few minutes passed and he started to doze off into sleep. He woke with a start when he heard the sounds of people running into the lobby. He stiffened as he sat up so he could see what was going on. Two Americans came into view. "We are Eartha's parents. We came as soon as you called" said the man to the receptionist in perfect Korean, just like the woman he had save had. Eartha? Her name was Eartha? What kind of name was Eartha? He frowned. Why hadn't someone told him they had figured out who she was? He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Her status right now is in surgery. I am going to have to ask you to take a seat, I am calling the doctor now so he will know you are here so he can come inform you as to what is going on." said the receptionist. Both Americans nodded and came to sit close to him. He looked at Eartha's mother. She had red rings around her eyes from crying.

Suddenly he didn't know what to do. "Did they tell you if she was okay?" asked Hwoarang as he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. Earth's father's brown eyes pierced into his direction. "And who are you?" asked the father impatiently. Hwoarang searched her father's dark eyes before he answered. This was a hard man. And he was an important man. He wasn't sure who he was, but Hwoarang knew he had seen him on the news before.

"I am Hwoarang. I saved your daughter tonight." he whispered as he glanced over at the mother. He watched as her parent's relaxed. "Bless you boy for saving her." Her father said. "Can you possibly tell us why she is in surgery?" asked the mother. "No, when they took her from me, she had a lot of bruising and a few cuts on her arms, and a deep gash on the back of her head." said Hwoarang as he laced his fingers together in thought. "I hope she is okay." cried her mother. "I am sure she is hun. Eartha gets into trouble all the time. She will pull through. She has to. I have a few words I would like to say to her." said her father sternly. Eartha's father turned back to Hwoarang and glared at him.

"Hwoarang how can we repay you for saving our daughter?" asked her father.

"You can just let me know how she is after they let you see her." he said. Her father nodded. "I am Garret and this is Janet Collinsworth, and we can do that for you. Are you sure there is nothing else we can do for you though? We would also like to keep this quiet. And we would pay for your silence on this incident." Garret said sternly. Hwoarang stared at them oddly. And that is when it hit him. Collinsworth. Garret Collinsworth was the head of stem cell research here and had been in trouble with the law for trying to use his daughter as a test subject. He knew he thought he had seen him before.

He then looked over Garret's shoulder to the door. Eartha had been a test subject? Oddly enough he understood the father's need to help his daughter, but it still wasn't the right thing to do. What if something had gone wrong in the research and you happened to do something terrible to your daughter? He frowned at Garret. "You don't have to pay me anything. I won't say anything to the press." Hwoarang spat. Garret sat back and stared intently at Hwoarang. The kid had muscle, and looked like he knew how to use it too. "How exactly did you save my daughter's life?" asked Janet as she looked Hwoarang over. "I heard the commotion, went over and…. For lack of a better phrase: kicked her attacker's asses." said Hwoarang as he looked between Garret and Janet.

"So you are a fighter?" asked Garret.

"No, I don't fight. I actually broke a promise tonight by saving your daughters life." said Hwoarang some what in a sad tone.

"What is your fighting style?" asked Garret, curious to know more about Hwoarang, and totally blocking out that he just said that he was no longer a fighter..

"Taekwondo was my fighting style." sighed Hwoarang.

Garret nodded and stared at Hwoarang with such purpose that Hwoarang began to have gooseflesh. "Are you employed my boy?" asked Garret.

"What?" asked Hwoarang instead of answering.

"I want to know if you have a job." said Garret semi annoyed.

"Well no I am not at the moment, but I don't see how this is relevant." said Hwoarang back, semi annoyed.

"Would you like a job?" asked Garret abruptly.

"Well yeah, but what kind of job?" Hwoarang as he stared at Garret.

"Body guard to my daughter. This kind of thing is happening more frequently and we have been looking in the market for a body guard and I think you have what it takes to do the job properly. Plus I will pay you more than you can make working anywhere around here." explained Garret.

Hwoarang stared at them dumbfounded. He didn't want to fight, but if it paid well, what was he supposed to do? "If you want you can get back to me, but I am serious about paying a lot more than you could be paid fighting on the streets or even working at a nice company. I would die if something happened to Eartha, and I need to know that she can be taken care of. You have already shown dedication to her and you don't even know her. Please just think about it." said Garret.

But before he could even consider it the doctor came out. "So who is Ms. Collinsworth's family?" asked the doctor. "We are." said Janet as she and her husband stood up. "Nice to meet you. I am Dr. Hiro, Your daughter is fine. Nothing wrong other than serious bruising and she had to have stitches in her arm. But there is bad news, she had to have six staples in the back of her head from the blow she sustained. We didn't do anything to her but stitch her up and make sure that she didn't have any broken bones or swelling of the brain. She is in perfect condition and she has woken up. But she is asking to see the young man who saved her life. I told her that she could see him after she see the two of you if that is fine?" said Dr. Hiro.

"That will be fine." said Garret as he started to follow the doctor back. Hwoarang smiled. He was going to get to see for himself that she was okay. Relief flowed through him and he sat back easily and started to think about the proposition he had just had.


	3. Chapter 3: Visiting

Author's Note: Well here it is. I hope you enjoy it. Thanx for reading it!

What was he thinking when he agreed to wanting to go back and see her? All it did was make his want to accept her father's offer at becoming her "babysitter"… wait… body guard. He knew that she was okay, so he didn't really need to come and see for himself, but for some reason he couldn't just leave. He wanted to make sure the woman he save was indeed safe. He could have taken her parent's word that she was alright but he couldn't get rid of this nagging feeling to go see her.

He entered the room as quietly as he could. She sat in her hospital bed, seeming so small even though she wasn't. He would be a fool to think that bed seemed to swallow her tiny frame, because she didn't have a tiny frame. She was a tall woman, and she was a woman who took care of her body.

Yet, she still seemed to look tiny and defenseless. She looked up at him when he entered, with her unseeing eyes. So much for being silent, she heard him. He wasn't sure how she had heard him but she had. If he took the job, could he become used to her eyes? The milky film that covered her eyes where frightening. Frightening in the sense he had never seen anything like her eyes before. "Cataracts." she said. "What?" he asked. Not understanding why she had said that, or what it meant. "My eyes, you are staring at them. The reason they look filmy like this is because I have very bad cataracts." she said. He nodded, which was dumb because she couldn't see him nod. He sighed and scratched the back of his head, feeling stupider by the moment.

"Can't cataracts be removed?" he asked, thinking it is was a dumb question as soon as he asked it. Of course if they could be removed they would have done so by now for her. "Yes, but only if they are minute. See mine aren't small at all. They are too large to operate on." she explained like it was something she explained everyday. Her voice seemed sad and that pulled on his emotions for a moment.

"So is that why your father tried to use you as a test subject?" he asked on impulse. He hadn't meant to ask that. "So you know who I am now? Well if not who I am you know I am the girl whose father used her as his lab rat?" she asked in a spat. Her voice turned dark and angry in a moment. He sighed and apologized. "I am sorry, I just heard it on the news and recognized your father…"

She sighed. "I am sorry, you saved my life. It doesn't matter who I am. I am grateful that you helped me." she whispered. Awkward silence enveloped them after that. What did one say to someone they saved after the had almost ended up in a mini spat with one another?

She looked away from and stared out the window. He wondered how she knew that was the window. "Don't do it." she whispered. "Do what?" he asked. This woman was strange no doubt about it. She might not see, but she did see in her own way.

"My father offered you a job. Don't take it. I don't need a babysitter, and you surely don't want to baby-sit me." she whispered. He swallowed hard. He didn't expect when he came up here to see her that they would be having this conversation. "So the doctor says you had to have staples in your head?" he asked. "Yes, but you're changing the subject." she said as she looked right back at him.

"You are right. I am changing it because I don't know what to tell a perfect stranger. I don't have a job and your father's offer is rather tempting to me." he said, and it was entirely honest. "If you are a perfect stranger, then why are you here?" she asked, her voice sounded like she had been hurt by his remark. "You wanted to see me." he said. He hadn't told her the entire truth though. He had wanted to see for himself that she was alright.

"I had wanted you to come here because I figured the man who saved my life was no longer a perfect stranger. Guess I was wrong." she said as her blind eyes bore into his. It was like she was looking through his soul. He coughed and looked away. Was she always this serious? Or was it the medicine she was on? "I guess you are right. We aren't perfect strangers." he said.

"Yes we aren't. I am the dumb blind girl that you just happened to save tonight." she said looked down at her hands. What was wrong with the girl. Was she an emotional cripple or something? She sighed. "I am not crazy if that is what you are thinking. I am just very intuitive and I just happen to be very sheltered. And that is why I don't want another babysitter." she said as she continue to stared down at her hands that rested on her lap.

Sheltered? Well he could see that she was indeed sheltered. He could see that there where a lot of issues that surrounded this woman. She sighed again. "Well, thanks again for saving my life." she whispered. He couldn't help but feel very sorry for her. She had lived a very sheltered life and she didn't know how to properly communicate with other humans.

On impulse he came forward and kissed her cheek. He didn't know what processed him to do so but he had. "Be safe. And I will see you later." he said as he moved away from her. She touched her cheek and actually looked surprised. He liked the way her surprised look lit up her face. It made him want to learn more about her, but he would in his due time. Against her wishes and his better judgment, he was going to take the job. He needed money, and she needed a friend.

"You are going to take the job aren't you?" she asked. "Yes, I am Eartha." he said, trying her name on his tongue. He liked the way he said her name. He had to learn to like a lot of things to be around her. "What is your name?" she asked suddenly. "Hwoarang." he said as he tucked some of her dark sandy blonde hair behind her ear. He wasn't sure why he was being so tender with her.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that she had almost been raped this very night and he figured she needed someone to be tender towards her. She reached up and grasped his hand. Both froze and he looked into her milky eyes. "You have to be careful with my hair because of the staples." she whispered in pain. He closed his eyes and apologized. He had almost forgotten about her head injury.


End file.
